Technological knowledge access and transfer of multinational corporations from emerging economies: a comparison study

Purpose This study aims to analyze the subsequent investment success of EMNCs after their strategic asset-seeking foreign direct investments (FDIs), while internationalization trajectories of multinational corporations from emerging economies (EMNCs) have been extensively studied, Post-internationalization investment success of EMNCs is defined as extensive technological knowledge access and transfer for knowledge combination. This paper focuses on EMNC explicit knowledge access and transfer. Design/methodology/approach This study analyzes US patents granted between 2000 and 2014 to leading innovation-oriented EMNCs from China and India as well as to their key competitors from mature industrialized countries (MMNCs). Wilcoxon Rank Sum Test is used to compare the explicit technological knowledge access and transfer patterns of EMNCs and MMNCs. With MMNCs as the benchmark, the comparison allows to imply the patterns and extent of technological knowledge access and transfer of EMNCs. Findings While subsidiary reverse knowledge transfer is largely missing, EMNCs adopt a parent-centric approach in which the parent directly accesses and transfers explicit knowledge from the external environment of host locations. In doing so, EMNCs at least partially achieve the knowledge access and transfer goals of strategic asset-seeking FDIs. Originality/value This study contributes to an in-depth understanding of EMNCs by empirically testing key predictions in extant EMNC literature, namely, the strategic asset-seeking in host locations and the systematic integration of accessed knowledge and resources with home country activities. This study also pioneers the use of the US patent and citation data to empirically study EMNCs.